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Eva Longoria has been associated with glamour, talent, and versatility. She is well known to millions of fans across the globe as the star of the hit television series Desperate Housewives, where she played the glamorous Gabrielle Solis. She has captivated audiences with her acting abilities and radiant presence.
Longoria is also known for her roles in shows and films, including The Young and the Restless, The Sentinel (2006), and Overboard (2018). Here are five fascinating secrets about the multi-talented actress, producer, and philanthropist that one likely does not know.
Eva Longoria: Behind the glamour
1) Eva Longoria has a master's degree in Chicano studies
Eva Longoria might be a Hollywood actress, but she's also an academic scholar. She earned her Master's degree in Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge in 2013. As per IMDb, she did her thesis on "Success STEMS from Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers."
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During the taping of Desperate Housewives, she took time out to attend classes on campus, as per a May 2013 report by the Los Angeles Times.
2) Eva Longoria was a beauty pageant winner
She was once a beauty queen before she ventured into the entertainment industry. She won several local beauty contests when she was a child in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was crowned Miss Corpus Christi in 1998. The win opened up the doors for her, and she ended up moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting.
3) Eva Longoria is a successful entrepreneur
Besides being an actress, Longoria is also an entrepreneur who owns many businesses. In 2008, she opened a restaurant named Beso in Los Angeles. It served delicacies from a unique Mexican and Latin-inspired menu.
In 2021, she launched a line of tequila known as Casa Del Sol in honor of her Mexican heritage and love for high-quality spirits, as per Forbes. In addition, she became an investor and strategic advisor to Siete Foods, a Mexican-American family-owned company, in 2024.
She also invested $6 million in the 2014 film John Wick. The film starring Keanu Reeves did extremely well at the box office, collecting $86 million, as per People.
4) She's a philanthropist
As a philanthropist, she created the Eva Longoria Foundation in 2012. As per the organization's website, it helps "Latinas understand and access their civic power," "support access to career opportunities," and "create career pathways in the entertainment industry."
As per the news site Civil Eats, she advocates for farmworkers' rights, as well as for organizations that support fair wages and better working conditions. The actress also took on the role of executive producer for the 2014 documentary Food Chains, which explored the challenging conditions farmworkers endure.
5) She began her career in soap operas
While her fans are much more familiar with her television prime time work, at the initial stage of her career, Longoria worked as a daytime soap actress. She landed a position in The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2003, in which she played Isabella Braña for more than 300 episodes. From 2004 to 2012, she played the lead role of Gabrielle Solis in ABC's Desperate Housewives.
Over the years, she has won awards, including Screen Actors Guild and People's Choice Awards for her work in Desperate Housewives; she was also nominated for a Golden Globe for the same role.
